Your lawn is the most important part of your backyard. But it needs to be maintained properly in order for it to maintain its beautiful appearance. Lack of consistent watering and care can lead to a loss of plants and quality soil.
So we’re here to help. Keep reading to find out the best times to water your lawn so that you can continue to enjoy your backyard or garden.
So let’s start!
What Is The Best Time To Water Grass?
If possible, the morning is the best time to water grass. Watering the grass early in the morning ensures that your lawn can dry completely before nightfall. A wet lawn during the night can lead to fungus and other diseases.
The best time to water the lawn is during the morning. It's less windy and cooler, so there's less evaporation. This helps you save money on the water bill and take less time to apply water on your lawn. If you're unable to water your grass in the morning, any time is better than nothing at all.
When it comes to the heat, you might need more water to prevent your lawn from becoming drought stressed. If you have temperature that’s on the 90’s and high 100ºs, then you will have to:
Grass will need more water during the heat because it uses water as the internal coolant. Daily waterings in heat should be added to your deep weekly waterings.
And if you have automatic sprinklers, inspect them regularly to ensure that you have complete coverage. Have you went through a neighborhood entrance or a business with nice landscaping where the one sprinkler is aimed at the street.
Even if it's cold, or raining, and it's making an icy spot on the road? Check your sprinklers once in a while so that it doesn't look like that!
Types Of Soil
If you want to know more about your lawn, you have to take soil into account. The graph below shows the five most common soil types and how long to water grass so that your lawn remains functioning.
Soil Type | Explanation |
|---|---|
Sandy | Sandy soil is dry and is hard to touch. This is because the particles have the largest spaces between them and it’s unable to hold on water. In this soil, increase the amount of times you water your lawn. |
Silty | Silty soil has fewer particles than sandy soil, making it smooth and easy to touch. When there's moisture applied, it has a soapy slick texture. This soil can become compact, so don’t trample on it when irrigating your lawn. Silty soil can become less aerated as well. Water your lawn with 1inch of water a week if you see this soil. |
Peaty | Peaty soil is black or dark brown. It's easily compressed because of its organic matter and high water content. In the summer peat can become dangerous and is a potential fire hazard. So you need to water your lawn 1 ½ - 2 inches if this happens. |
Loam | Loamy soil is the ideal soil type for your lawn. When you feel it, the grass feels like a gritty, smooth, slightly sticky ball that crumbles easily. Since this is the healthiest soil type, you can water your lawn at 1-½ inches a week. |
How Long to Water Your Lawn?
Your lawn is going to need 1”-1 ½” of water a week in spring, summer, and fall seasons. For the winter, you might need about 1 ½ to 2 inches of water.
If your lawn receives 1 inch of water a week, then you’re fine. If not, you need to water them until they start to show signs of improvement.
How Often To Water Your Lawn?
To find the best time for watering, when viewing your lawn, the grass will show the following signs:
These signs don’t decide that the grass is going to die. Turfgrass can turn brown - meaning that its dormant and can stay alive for 3-4 weeks. If you live where there is water restrictions, then you should let the grass stay dormant before watering it.
When your grass reaches the 3-4 week mark without rain, then you have to water the grass so that it moistens the top 5 inches of the soil. This will keep the grass alive but not enough for the lawn to green up.
Always give your soil time to dry out. Also, you should wait before setting the lawn irrigation system again. When the grass seed roots are wet for more than 14 hours, they become vulnerable to pests and diseases lying in the lawn.
How To Tell If Your Lawn Has Been Watered Enough?
Determining how often to water, how long it takes to water, and when to water the lawn, are questions that can only be answered when you take grass species, weather, and soil into consideration.
A healthy lawn needs healthy soil, just like a garden. The lawn soil should be properly aerated with around 4-5% organic matter. If your lawn is still struggling, test the quality of the soil. Find the Cooperative Extensive Service to receive assistance.
Cool and wet weather gives you a break from most lawn irrigation tasks. For example, if you have a sprinkler that is set to an automatic timer, make sure to check it frequently so it can turn it off when you don’t need it.
Alternatively, you can buy a rain gauge or mark 1-inch in depth in a tuna can. Then, you're able to adjust the watering. Depending on the type of your soil, you might want to do a few waterings instead of one. More water passes through freely in sandy or light soil, so increase the frequency of light waterings on your lawn.
Conclusion
Now that you know when is the best time to water your lawn, you have to be proactive. Take time looking into the soil and the surroundings of your farm to ensure that it’s in good health. By taking care of your lawn, you’ll be rewarded with an appealing addition to your home.
